Fasting Benefits with Alphamine - Article

Early morning fasts & fasted cardio are two tools that are commonly used among hardcore physique enthusiasts to quickly and drastically reduce fat stores. However, these techniques are seldom used among casual gym goers. Big mistake! These two techniques make the fat loss process exponentially easier and more effective, and we’re about to explain why.

In order for fat to be “burned” off, it must first be freed from the fat cells. The rate limiting step in this process is an enzyme called “Hormone Sensitive Lipase”, or HSL. In a nutshell, the more active HSL is, the more fatty acids are freed and available for oxidation or “burning”. Obviously, we want as MUCH HSL activity as possible.

The Problem? The primary way to INACTIVATE HSL is through the hormone insulin, which spikes heavily after a meal containing carbohydrates, and moderately after even low carb meals. When circulating insulin levels are elevated, HSL screeches to a halt and the body goes into “storage” mode, shuttling all excess energy substrates into fat or glycogen stores. Activating HSL is dependent on many different pathways, but primarily high levels of catecholamines (epinephrine, norephinephrine) or beta-agonists (Higenamine, ephedrine, clen, etc) will do the trick.

In an ideal environment, catecholamine levels will be very high & insulin will remain low, resulting in enhanced breakdown of fatty acids that are stored within the fat cell. The next step is binding the free fatty acid (FFA) to albumin and transporting it through the bloodstream. The problem with this is that stubborn body fat typically has very poor blood flow. Mobilized fat cells from these areas will more than likely become re-deposited into adipose (body fat) since they will not interact with tissue that can use it for fuel (liver, muscle, etc).

A number of things can help in the mobilization of FFAs from fat cells & the transport of them through the bloodstream so they may be oxidized (burned) for fuel. In the scope of this article, the main one we’re going to target is FASTING. Yes, in a fasted state you have improved fat cell blood flow, meaning increased circulation of these FFAs. Insulin will also remain lower in a fasted state, which means less to inactivate HSL and more fat breakdown will occur. Cardio will also improve blood flow, and in a fasted state the energy used will be primarily FFAs, resulting in significantly improved results.

Understanding the physiology of fat loss helps you know what you need to do in order to further your fat loss goals. To put it simply: - A meal or calories of any kind will increase insulin and essentially inactivates HSL to an extent. - By fasting, you keep insulin lower & allow more stubborn body fat to become mobilized & transported away for use as energy. - Fasted daily activities or cardio is the final key process. Fasting not only improves the breakdown and transport of fat cells, the only energy available for use will be primarily stored bodyfat!

But what if I’m too hungry?

Lets be real, not EVERYONE can skip breakfast and fast for their morning and be comfortable. However, how many of you out there notice you don't start developing an appetite until AFTER breakfast? Many physiological processes are involved in hunger signalling, but for most simply skipping breakfast allows appetite to stay low while you effortlessly burn through fat stores via improved hormonal environment. Not only does this system enhance fat loss, it can even be seen as nearly subconscious caloric restriction. A several hour fast after waking when appetite is non existent essentially means less time awake to graze, think about food, etc. and more time to focus on your daily tasks!

Fasting Augmentation with Alphamine

Alphamine targets all of the above mentioned pathways required for fat loss while significantly blunting appetite. This means the two together are your ticket to an ultimate body transformation!

Beta Agonists (Higenamine HCl) & SA2-A (novel yohimbines standardization)Remember how we want to activate HSL as much as possible? Well, the primary way to ACTIVATE HSL as said above is through catecholamine (adrenaline, noradrenaline) release.

There are two receptors catecholamines will “bind” to:

1. Beta Receptors - When a catecholamine binds to a b-receptor, it increases cAMP levels, increases HSL, and fat breakdown increases.2. Alpha Receptors - When a catecholamine binds to an alpha-receptor, it DECREASES cAMP levels, HSL, and STOPS FAT LOSS. This is the primary understanding for “stubborn” body fat patterns. In women for example, they have MORE alpha receptors & less beta receptors in their hips/butt area resulting in hard to remove body fat. The key is to “shut off” the Alpha receptors while also “activating” the beta receptors, & Alphamine does exactly that!Choline - Fat Burning EfficiencyCholine, while being present in essentially every cell in the human body, has a very distinct purpose in Alphamine. A study on human male athletes noted significantly enhanced lipid oxidation (fat burning) in men who ingested supplemental choline. Levels of beta-hydroxybutarate (a ketone) were also elevated, suggesting more fatty acids were being broken down and used as ketones to provide energy for the body, essentially making your body more efficient at using “fat for fuel”. In a fasted state this is EXACTLY what we want!

Chlorogenic Acid - Insulin MitigationIf you’re still following, you're aware of the deleterious effect insulin (even at fasted levels) can have on fat loss, thats where chlorogenic acid comes in. It is noted to not only reduce plasma fasting insulin levels in humans, but also inhibit the breakdown of starches in the intestinal tract, resulting in significantly reduced insulin levels all around. While the other ingredients in Alphamine act towards activating HSL through the beta adrenergic pathway, this will help ensure there isn't any lingering insulin to halt the process!

Oleuropein - Improved ThermogenesisOleuropein, or olive leaf extract, serves numerous purposes in Alphamine. So much so, that we feel it is one of THE most underrated fat loss ingredients on the market. It has been shown to be extremely thyrogenic, some studies even note an over 200% increase in T3 levels! This has numerous effects for one wishing to lose weight, largely due to the effect the thyroid has on controlling metabolic rate. The higher your thyroid hormone concentrations, the higher your overall metabolism is!Another important factor is thyroid hormones relation to adipose tissue blood flow. Remember how we discussed poor blood flow to stubborn body fat patterns, and how that was one of the reasons why they just don't get used for fuel? Well thyroid levels have a lot to do with that, so on top of increasing total thermogenesis, you’re gaining more efficiency at using those stubborn areas for fuel!

We know many of you train early in the morning, and its common bodybuilding gospel that you MUST eat protein prior to weight lifting or you’ll “totally go catabolic bro”, but that isn't exactly true. Several studies have recently been performed on the merit of fasted weight training, and they have had very interesting results.

One study noted a nutrient partitioning effectwith fasted training vs the non-fasted group. Both groups ate a substantial caloric surplus (roughly 600-700 above maintenance) for a period of six weeks. Theoretically this would correlate to 1+lb of weight gain per week, yet at the end of the study the fasted training group gained only ~1.3lbs. The non-fasting group? They gained about 7 lbs. The fasted group also had significantly improved insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance, and a higher rate of fat oxidation compared to the group that ate breakfast.

In a separate study, researchers noted a significant “anabolic rebound” following fasted training vs non-fasted. The researchers summarized the study by stating - “Our results indicate that prior fasting may stimulate the intramyocellular anabolic response to ingestion of a carbohydrate/protein/leucine mixture following a heavy resistance training session.”

There have been other small studies that go in favor of fasted strength training, however the research is still unclear. We’re not advocating changing your entire routine in favor of fasted training, but what we can say is if your schedule only allows training under a fast using this protocol, don’t feel that you’re shorting your gains. Clearly there is more to the picture.

Nutrition

An entire article based on dieting is sort of out of the scope of this article, however we can give several pointers for those wishing to reduce their body fat levels:

1. Follow the fasting protocol, if you wish to get better results think about switching to Intermittent fasting. This is where you fast for a certain portion of the day (usually 14-16 hours) and consume all of your calories over the course of a feeding window (usually 8-10 hours). The most common feeding windows are usually 11AM-7PM, 12PM-9PM, and 2PM-10PM. This will help prevent you from going overboard after your daily fast.

2. DON'T treat morning fasting as an excuse to binge eat once you finally have a meal. Although your meals will be larger due to the time restraint, you should still aim to keep portions under control & have proper food selection; the fast will just help accelerate your fat loss.

4. Avoid calorie dense foods like peanut butter, large portions of cheese, etc. Although they may be low in carbs, eating these in excess will still stall your progress.

5. Attempt to gain most of your intake from whole foods as opposed to relying on protein shakes.

6. No liquid calories should be consumed, unless its a protein shake, in which case it should be prepared with water as opposed to milk.

Tying it Together

Okay, so we’ve covered fat loss pathways, how fasting augments this to cause greater body fat reductions, how Alphamine will make this process faster, and how you won't lose any muscle. Heres an easy step by step guide to getting the most of your Alphamine run:

1. Immediately upon waking take your Alphamine dose (2 scoops, if you can handle it)2. Skip breakfast and any calorie containing items (no coffee with creamers, iced teas, milk, etc). Even if its not solid food, all of these will have an effect on insulin release, and you’ll be throwing a wrench in your progress if you continuously use them. Black coffee, diet drinks, or unsweetened tea are fine.3. Once hunger begins to pick up, simply break your fast and have a meal. Shooting for a 3-4 hour fast seems to be the best approach in our experience.4. Perform fasted cardio at least 3x a week.Don't just take our word for it, this is the exact system used by our Alphamine pilot tester Kevin. Heres a picture of the transformation he had using this protocol for only 8 short weeks!http://anabolicminds.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=64 653&d=1345582241

What about training, waiting 30mins then breaking fast? Weight training in the AM fasted that is.

You could do that, you would still be setting yourself up for the anabolic rebound thats been demonstrated post fasted training. Another common protocol that people do on leangains is ingest 10g BCAA pre/post workout rather than immediately ending fast. I think the approach i would take depends entirely on the goal.

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You could do that, you would still be setting yourself up for the anabolic rebound thats been demonstrated post fasted training. Another common protocol that people do on leangains is ingest 10g BCAA pre/post workout rather than immediately ending fast. I think the approach i would take depends entirely on the goal.

During season but still want to maintain strength, possibly lose some.residual fat...

So my fast I would brake it like 3 pm and I train around 6 or 7pm would be able to take solid food like chicken green being so close for my bed time
Just curious if 3pm to next morning 9am might be to long of a fasting period

would a 6 hour fast be good enough? cause i do cardio after work in the evening. i'm also looking to improve my speed on the treadmill and post-workout glycogen replenishment seems necessary to both replenish as well as be anabolic and improve heart/lungs/muscle strength and lose fat.i'm planning to take alphamine first thing in the morning and 2nd dose even earlier than my pre-workout(of bcaas and NO stuff)i should be ok to gain aerobic+anaerobic endurance/speed plus fat loss right?

would a 6 hour fast be good enough? cause i do cardio after work in the evening. i'm also looking to improve my speed on the treadmill and post-workout glycogen replenishment seems necessary to both replenish as well as be anabolic and improve heart/lungs/muscle strength and lose fat.i'm planning to take alphamine first thing in the morning and 2nd dose even earlier than my pre-workout(of bcaas and NO stuff)i should be ok to gain aerobic+anaerobic endurance/speed plus fat loss right?

I dont think theres any right or wrong way to do it, its more about what feels comfortable with you and what works with your schedule. In my opinion, 6 hours in your given situation would be perfect. What kind of endurance training are you performing though? I believe I've read studies that indicate long-endurance bout type training is negatively impacted by training in a fasted state.

If you're just hitting sprints and doing HIIT, you should be okay. Just play it by ear and see how you perform, then adjust accordingly.

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hmm thanks for your opinion i will take note about fasted state negatively impacting long-endurance.i'm actually trying to lower my 2mile run timing to 12minutes. that would be a dream. and after that perhaps 3miles in 18mins further on.while remaining low bf.

Sounds good, you're just going to have to take a good trial & error approach to the entire method.

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I'm so glad that you posted about fasting and cardio etc. A dude at the gym swears up and down that I was wrong about doing my cardio on a empty stomach. Imma send him the link to this post. By the way I loved alphamine. Hopefully I can run another cycle (8 weeks) the next time I use it, finances got kinda tight. I was only able to run it 4 weeks.

would a 6 hour fast be good enough? cause i do cardio after work in the evening. i'm also looking to improve my speed on the treadmill and post-workout glycogen replenishment seems necessary to both replenish as well as be anabolic and improve heart/lungs/muscle strength and lose fat.i'm planning to take alphamine first thing in the morning and 2nd dose even earlier than my pre-workout(of bcaas and NO stuff)i should be ok to gain aerobic+anaerobic endurance/speed plus fat loss right?

I see no reason why not, I assume based on some studies I have come across, the morning fasted workout is king as it sets the body's metabolic rate for the day.

Great job Kevin, thanks for doing this. I do HIIT at 5:30 in the morning and then weight lift at 7 at night. My PWO is SWOll-N, Supp-D, betal-alanine, multi, fish oil. My post w/o is creatine and bcaas, what time or timeframe would you recommend taking alphamine and erase?